Most of your ads will use keywords as the primary method of attracting customers. These are phrases that match search terms, so it can be said that they represent the basis of your campaigns. In other words, the selection of quality and relevant keywords is critical for the success of any campaign.

Beginners often make the big mistake of assuming that keywords with similar meanings will have the same effect. Let’s say you are in the business of selling used cars. If you use the term preowned vehicles in your ads, you will not attract buyers who are actually looking for used cars. In practice, it turned out that there are about 600 times more searches related to used cars than to used vehicles. This represents a huge difference, which means that you have to adapt and choose terms used by your potential clients as keywords.

The next good example comes from the airline industry. They often use the term low fares in their ads, which in principle reflects their offer well, but in reality their customers are looking for discounted tickets or cheap flights. So, while choosing keywords, pay attention that they match the terms used by your clients and avoid professional terms.

The best advertisement is the one that hits the right customers. So don’t spread out in all directions and try to attract the masses, but try to place your ads to people who you know are interested in your offer. If, for example, they are teenagers who use slang or jargon, then you need to focus on using keywords that contain these expressions in your ads.

In order to succeed in this, it is necessary to think like your clients. Think about what they might be searching for and use the same phrases in your ads. Prepare specific terms for each product category you offer and use imaginary personas to properly analyze the needs of your customers. The most important thing is to understand how they think about a particular product or service.

It’s not a bad idea to group keywords into closely related topics and possibly divide them into smaller groups. In practice, this means that if you create a campaign for men’s boots, you can use thematic keywords such as men’s rain boots, men’s work boots, men’s motorcycle boots, men’s fashion boots, etc.

Finally, I would like to remind you once again that you must be specific. A generic keyword will often result in an incorrect match, so there’s no need to waste your resources on customers who have completely different interests. That’s why I advise you to think carefully and settle for 5 to 20 keywords per ad group, which is quite enough for an efficient campaign.